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Hello fellow users! I buy and sell home goods I purchase from Goodwill or Estate Sales. I recently purchased this brass (?) cat figurine from a Houston Goodwill, but have been unsuccessful in identifying its maker or anything about it to say the least.
This figurine is roughly 5+ lbs, 3x4 inches. I do not see any etchings or engravings that would give me an idea of who/where it's from. Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
At 5 pounds, that is hefty. The hole in the bottom is puzzling. It may have been affixed to a base. The chips on the bottom are also puzzling as brass doesn't chip. The subject matter is still highly sought after. Mid century modern Siamese cats can sell well and I have seen unusual ones sell upwards of $100. If it was mine, I would take 12 amazing photos, and list it as a 7 day Sunday to Sunday auction. Start it at the least you would want to get and let the market dictate the final value. Be sure to fully disclose the flaws. Post back with an update! Thanks for sharing!
Normally brass is solid and there are no holes at all in brass. Furthermore brass doesn't chip like this one is chipping now. There is a brass color low fire glaze that a lot of people used to paint their projects with. I am thinking this isn't brass at all but a solid poured statue that has been painted with low fire glaze. If it was real brass you can tell the difference because brass is solid and it doesn't chip.
Such a 'demure' look but it appears the nose/nostrils' are not set correctly which kinda speaks made in India to me.
Not sure why the hole is in the bottom as that many times means the piece is hollow but if you are correct about over 5 pounds (?) it cannot be hollow.
The machine marks on the bottom also makes me think it was made on a machine as those are the marks a machine makes when metal is shaped and 'cut'.
It also appears there may have been a felt cover on the bottom that has been removed?
I believe you could just call her a Siamese cat and not Egyptian as most Egyptian cat statues have much taller very pointed ears.
I only found one cat that came close to this one and it also has the same type of hole in the bottom (2 cats but only one similar to yours). I feel sure these do not weigh 5 pounds although a little larger. It is unusual for the seller to post pictures of the bottom of their items.
www.ebay.ca/
You may be able to post your pictures on some of the collectible forum sites and obtain more information. Also, Reddit is an excellent site to post for information.
www.treasurenet.com/
www.antiquers.com/
I do not know anything about this. Do they have any value?
This is a ceramic mold that has been poured in a ceramic shop. The mold has two sides and slip clay is poured int the mold and then held together with rubber bands or clamps until the mold drys. A person then cleans the lines and uses low fire glaze to add the finish to the piece. The reason I am saying this is because of the large letter E on the bottom of the piece and where the hole is located. I did a lot of mold pouring and I helped my grandmother pour a lot of her molds when she was dong ceramics. This looks like some of the choices they had at the studio she use to go to.
This looks like a mold for making ceramic figurines.
Molds and making pieces by hand are not so common anymore but there are thousands of handmade pieces similar to this floating around somewhere as this was a well liked 'hobby' several years ago.
Most of the items were simple so that inexperienced people could make them and also learn how to paint them before they were placed in the kiln to be fired.
Whoever made the piece placed the E on the bottom to identify who it belonged to as they may have fired 30-40 pieces at one time. Some people put their name or mark on the figurine itself but most just added an initial.
I do not believe it could be 'valuable' except maybe to the family of the person who made it.
Does anybody know anything about this sculpture? There is a name on it (Michele or Michelo or??) and a capital N sign. Any info would be welcome.
I've been trying to look for this with no luck at all. There is not a lot to go on. I know a site that might be able to help out a lot more on this one. They identify figurines that are hard to find or do not have a lot of information on them. You might want to check this site and see if they can find more information about your item than I can. www.collectorsweekly.com/
Would anybody happen to know any details about this Italian made figurine of a male & female on a swing and how much it is worth in $AUD? It weighs 3.475kgs. The base dimensions are 15x23cm and the height is 35cm. Many thanks :)
I see this (unless you can see where the plate has come off--there would be glue stains or tiny nail holes) as an homage to an Armani Capodimonte Figurine Couple In Swing figurine. This theme of figurine was quite popular in the 1980s and was a frequent wedding/engagement gift.
The color and quality of paint on your piece does not look like a true Armani Capodimonte.
Sadly, both the real thing and the homage pieces don't have value in the market like they did pre-2008 when the market tanked.
There was an Armani piece that (shockingly to me) sold recently for 99.00 + shipping. Why I say shockingly is they seemed to charge a very high shipping fee. When I see this in solds I think it is a money laundering/shill bid/or some other scam bid.
I could be wrong. The seller doesn't have many feedbacks and none that I can see for similar pieces, which to me is suspicious.
I have seen them sell in the $40-70 range.
The homage pieces in the $10-40 range.
I would like to identify the artist on this figurine. It is signed, but is mounted on a wooden pedestal so I can't see the maker's mark.
Also, I'm not sure of the signature spelling.
I cannot make out the signature either. It is a Hummel-type of figurine. It is worth it to take it to a dealer.
It looks a lot like a Guiseppi Armani Capodimonte style figurine, but I don't recognize the signature. Is there a mark on the bottom?
Sometimes there are artists and the GAC mark is on the underside.
Is this Mary and Joseph holding baby Jesus or are they holding an animal? I tried to blow up the photo and it fuzzed out.
Sometimes if you take a piece of paper, place it over the signature and rub with a pencil you can get a better idea of what the letters of the signature are (IF they are indented).
How tall is it? Is it ceramic or resin? If it was GAC it would be porcelain.
Maybe with more info, I can help! Thanks! Post back with details.
Thanks for posting back with more info.
A lamb...now I see it! It was so hard for me to see it...old eyes.
I did more digging and am coming up empty. Which I am not used to. I am usually very good with IDing things like this.
Is the signature indented so that you can put a thin piece of paper over it and then lightly pencil over it? Sometimes that helps get a better picture of the letters. To me it looks like it starts with "Arr" or "Orr", but when I go through all of my sources for artist signatures, I am coming up empty. So either I am not reading it right or it is related to the other challenge that there is a whole contingent of collectibles where the figurines were "manufactured". What I mean is there was a factory and the "artist" was an employee. He/she probably sat all day hand painting and signing these items and may or may not have had other works. This was done to create the illusion of value. In most cases there is little or no record of these folks because they were more of an employee than an artist.
The ironic thing is in some cases the "artists" did become famous in their own rights after the fact. So I totally get it that you want to find out who made this piece.
There are thousands of figurines of courting couples with lambs so that wasn't a good route for my research just to see if I could firm the company who made it.
My last suggestion is to find a reputable vintage dealer in your town who may recognize the signature or be better able to read it in person.
I am so curious! Please post back when you get more info!!
What do these mean and how do I know if they are worth anything?
These belonged to my grandparents. What would they be valued at?
Can you please post if they have markings? Approximate age (or age of your grandparents)?
What are they made of? It looks like the elephant is glass...but is it bisque or ceramic (bisque feels rough, ceramic smooth).
Is the hula dancer plastic or wood or resin?
What is the one in the middle--a slipper? Is it musical.
The challenge with IDing just from these front shots is there have been many similar items made over the years. With more info, I hope I can get you a better idea of values.
Thanks!! These are neat, but the way. I look forward to hearing what the middle one is!! It is interesting looking!
Millions of House of Lloyd figurines have been made to enjoy. Generally even if still boxed, they seldom generate more than 10 dollars in value.
These popular sculptures have been been sold since 1978 in a variety of styles. This is a page about determining the value of Precious Moments figurines.
An old, rare Mickey Mouse figure can be worth quite a bit. This is a page about value of mickey mouse figurine.
